Find the studies, inspect the evidence, understand what is known, and see the questions that still need answers.
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AI helps RSRC organize and summarize research. Outputs may contain errors; verify findings in the linked original source.
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Search online coverage across languages, chart reported themes over time and follow connected stories.
Media reporting, not counts of scams.
Explore coverage and chartsStart with a clear explanation, examples of how scams work, and the differences between related terms.
Read the introductionRead living syntheses that connect findings across publications and identify uncertainties and research gaps.
Explore Research InsightsRSRC does not accept individual scam reports or provide direct support. Our curated list points to official reporting and support services.
Find reporting and support resourcesResearch Insights
Read explanations of the findings, follow their sources, and see where the evidence is still limited.
Explore questions in Research InsightsRomance scammers can use emergencies or supposed investments to extract money, and some use romantic promises to obtain sexual contact or imagery. Reported cases also involve physical coercion. These studies describe tactics without establishing how common each pathway is or whether awareness lessons prevent harm.
Participants rated a romance-scam learning tool favorably, and monitored transfers decreased after warning letters. These findings show how people rated a tool and how payments changed after contact—not that either approach prevented financial loss.
Library
Individual studies and reports recently added to the approved collection.
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This publication by L. Kalytiuk, published in 2018 in Studia Philologica, presents a study of the speaking behavior of internet dating scammers, specifically labeled as catfish. The analysis draws on real events from 201...
View publication recordThe article examines online dating scams in China, aiming to describe the characteristics of the scam, the dynamics by which it unfolds, and the resulting effects on victims. The researchers used a quantitative descripti...
View publication recordThis publication presents a comprehensive analysis of frauds in online social networks (OSNs), focusing on how frauds arise from the open, highly connected nature of OSNs and the diverse ways users interact on platforms...
View publication recordThis 2024 study by Dirchaoui and Abarda, presented at the Mediterranean Smart Cities Conference (MSCC), surveys how researchers have used machine learning to detect five financial cybercrimes at the local level: social e...
View publication recordThis publication presents a neutral, source-grounded synopsis of a bibliometric study on cyber sextortion in cybersecurity. Its stated purpose is to map how research on cyber sextortion has progressed over time, focusing...
View publication recordThis study analyzes how scammers use psychological tactics and techniques to conduct cryptocurrency-related social engineering, drawing on 282 victim narratives from California and Wisconsin crypto scam trackers collecte...
View publication recordThis publication surveys how online environments have shaped romantic relationships since the Internet’s early days, challenging the notion that online ties are inherently shallow or unhealthy. It reviews competing theor...
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Founded by LD Herrera, PhD, RSRC organizes romance scam scholarship into a searchable public library and living evidence syntheses for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and the public.
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